Still lingering, still cheering, still celebrating in the twilight Saturday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium was a Pirate Nation understandably ecstatic about quarterback Patrick Pinkney and its East Carolina football team.

After beating No. 17 Virginia Tech last week, Pinkney's and the Pirates' encore was more impressive -- a dominating, 24-3 victory over No. 8 WVU.

East Carolina had never beaten an opponent rated this highly and the Pirates were facing a mountainous challenge, especially their defense.

But this Skip Holtz team looks like one that can move mountains.

"They are playing with desire, passion, togetherness," the fourth-year Pirates coach said. "Every facet from the offense to [defense] to special teams was fantastic."

Pinkney overshadowed West Virginia's Heisman Trophy candidate, Pat White, by completing 22 of 28 passes for 236 yards, one touchdown, and masterfully orchestrating a balanced offense in front of a raucous crowd of 43,610.

In two games, the Pirates' senior -- whose T-shirt bears the word "TOUGH" above his number 15 -- has hit on an amazing 41 of 51 throws.

Is that tough enough?

Meanwhile, White managed 97 yards rushing and 72 passing. But he was hit, harassed and hurried by a swarming East Carolina defense that showed a relentless penchant for popping from the moment it ran through the smokey, "Purple Haze" onto the field.

Pirates defensive coordinator Greg Hudson had said "we've got to hem them in." ECU did that most of the time, running to the ball, cutting the Mountaineers off at the perimeter, and clogging receivers routes.

To put the defensive performance in sharper perspective, this was the first time since October 2001 that West Virginia had failed to score a touchdown.

"It is so much fun to stand on the sidelines and watch our defense play as good as it is," said Holtz, who described the effort as "phenomenal."

"All of our defensive coaches had a game plan that was simple. We could have easily lost [the game] from being confused by their complex scheme."

The Pirates created the confusion and also came up with two fumbles, the first one thwarting a budding WVU drive.

"After that, we could not get a rhythm," Mountaineers coach Bill Stewart said. "East Carolina played a great game and played hard."

One of the crowning blows came in the fading moments when the Pirates' J.J. Millbrook delivered a blow to speedy WVU running back Noel Devine that sent an "oooooh" reverberating around the stadium and a replay flashing on the scoreboard.

From the get-go, ECU was ready to go, ready to play on the big stage that Holtz has said his team belongs.

The Pirates snapped off 80 yards on its their initial possession for a quick 7-0 lead, deftly mixing the run and past.

Brandon Simmons (50 yards on 16 carries) churned with power and Jonathan Williams (69 on 17 attempts) slashed, dashed and got the first of his two TDs.

The Pirates, boosted the lead to 10-0 in the second period when Ben Ryan delivered a 42-yard field goal. Then it hiked the margin to 17-3 just before intermission on an alley-oop, pass from the pinpoint-throwing Pinkney to leaping Alex Taylor.

West Virginia flashed some early second-half spark, but ECU's defense remained defiant. Van Eskridge (10 stops), Jay Ross (8), Quentin Cotton (8) and company kept the pressure on.

Meanwhile, Pinkney continued handing off to Simmons and Williams and distributing a variety of short passes to six receivers, led by elusive Dewayne Harris (8 catches).

It all clicked. Even the sun came out after a morning that had dawned with a frown and rain.

Now, can football life get any finer for East Carolina? By the looks of Saturday's performance, there seems to be a good chance.

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